Many enterprises handle a heavy workload on a daily basis. The heavy workload includes many requests for different types of work to be performed. An example request is a customer service request, in which a customer may ask for help with using goods or services that a company has provided to the customer. Another example request is a work order that specifies a product, or components thereof, to be manufactured. Another example request is an order that utilizes certain medical machinery to perform tests or examinations.
Many enterprises have multiple resources for handling the workload. Examples of resources include people (human resources), machines, and software applications. Each resource has different capabilities. In an example, customer service agents, who respond to customer service requests, have different capabilities. One agent may be skilled in Google® Android® operating systems, while another agent may be skilled in Apple® iOS® operating systems (Google® and Android® are registered trademarks of Google, Inc.; Apple® is a registered trademark of Apple, Inc.; iOS® is a registered trademark of Cisco Systems, Inc., and is used under license by Apple, Inc.). In another example, different machines have different features, which are capable of producing different products or components.
In order for the requests to be completed, requests need to be assigned to resources. However, inefficient assignments may lead to unsatisfactory completion of requests. For example, requests may not be completed in a timely manner, requests may not be completed by a well-suited resource, and/or requests may not be completed in accordance with customer requirements.
The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.